National Assembly cancelled for fourth time

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Samuel Maxime

Editor-in-Chief

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (sentinel.ht) – For the fourth time, Thursday, the embattled 50th Legislature could not meet in National Assembly to decide on the term of Provisional President Jocelerme Privert, whose mandate ended on June 14.

Cancelled National Assembly – July 14, 2016

After two roll calls, the July 14 session was cancelled by the Vice-President of the National Assembly, Deputy Cholzer Chancy. Chancy did not announce a date for a future session.

The first call recorded the presence of 50 deputies and 18 senators and the second call recorded 55 deputies and 17 senators. The failure for the Chamber of Deputies to reach the required 60 deputies, more than half of the body, meant the quorum was not met.

The failure to meet quorum was blamed on the deputies of the Parliamentarian Alliance for Haiti (APH). This group consists of lawmakers who lean towards the former totalitarian regime of Michel Martelly.

While the entire 50th Legislature is challenge for being unlawful and illegitimate, many members of APH, are specifically cited for having been brought to the legislature through violence and electoral fraud, an investigation into the 2015 elections found.

Because President Privert had heeded calls for the election investigation members of the APH bloc in the lower house have been calling for his removal. The tendency on July 14 is that Privert’s mandate would have been extended if the vote were held.